Texas NFA Gun Trust

by Sean Cody, Attorney

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the RIGHT of the People to keep and bear arms SHALL NOT be infringed

Firearms enthusiasts and collectors who wish to own a weapons regulated by the National Firearms Act such as suppressors Machineguns, Short Barreled Rifles (SBR), Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS), Any Other Weapons (AOW) or a Destructive Device (DD) may use a trust as the vehicle to obtain these weapons. The Trust is private, simple and very convenient!

​On July 13, 2016, ATF Rule 41F went into effect. If you have questions about Rule 41F, please watch the video posted above. Rule 41F has changed the way that Title II (i.e. Class III or NFA Weapons) are purchased, used and managed. The new rules impose some additional requirements on trust users, but do not remove the primary purpose of using a trust to own and possess firearms that are regulated by the National Firearms Act. NFA).

Rule 41F requires that those purchasing firearms that are regulated by the National Firearms Act with a Texas NFA Gun Trust submit the following five (5) forms and items:

Two FD-258 fingerprint cards (for each Trustor and Trustee, see below)

ATF Form 5320.23 with a passport photograph attached (for each Trustor and Trustee, see below).

A copy of each Responsible person form should be sent to the chief law enforcement officer (CLEO) of the locality in which you (or your trustees) are located. Most commonly the sheriff is the CLEO in Texas. It should be noted that in Texas, there is a list of state CLEOs if you do not wish to send this information to your local chief of police or sheriff.

“Responsible Persons” must send a copy of ATF Form 5320.23 to the CLEO. The Texas NFA Gun Trust has a limited group of “Responsible Persons”. Settlors and General Trustees that are on the Texas Gun trust at the time you are purchasing firearms that are regulated by the National Firearms Act. You may also remove all responsible person with the exception of the Settlors and submit the forms.

The applicant on the Form 1 and the transferee on the Forms 4 shall forward a completed copy of the Form 4 or 1 to the CLEO.

If your trust has multiple trustees that meet the definition of responsible person, it may become cumbersome and very time consuming, if not impossible, to submit fingerprints, a photo and a Form 5320.23 for every Trustee on a trust. There are two solutions:

Remove all trustees who meet the definition of responsible person prior to applying, and then add the Trustees back once the tax stamp is issued.

Appoint the trustees on my Texas NFA Gun Trust in a limited capacity so that they are not defined as Responsible Persons.

5 Reasons that a Texas NFA Trust is the Best Option to Purchase Silencers and SBRs

Co-Trustees: The Texas NFA Gun Trust allows multiple people to use, possess, store and transport the same Silencer and other NFA Weapons. By simply adding an eligible person as a Co-Trustee with limited powers you can authorize them to legally use any NFA weapons that your Texas NFA Gun Trust owns.

Hunting friends,

family members,

roommates,

adult children

If you want to have others use your NFA weapons, you can avoid inadvertently committing a federal crime by adding them as a Limited Trustee on your trust.

With the Texas NFA Gun Trust you may limit their authority and power to take them out of the definition of Responsible person and avoid the necessity of fingerprints and photos.

You may limit the term of the appointment as trustee to a hunting weekend, a longer period of until you are ready to remove them as trustee.

Continuity of Ownership: A question that every person asks is what happens to my collection after I die? The Texas NFA Gun Trust ensures that you get to choose what happens to your firearms collection and your weapons that are regulated by the National Firearms Act.

The Texas NFA Gun Trust ensures your firearms collection and your collection of weapons that are regulated by the National Firearms Act.

NFA weapon will be owned in the same way for generations to come by placing it in an NFA Trust.A properly drafted Texas NFA Gun Trust can limit the number of transfers and refiling of forms, or other legal filings for future generations.

Estate Planning: The Texas NFA Gun Trust is a great estate planning tool I recommend using my Texas NFA Gun Trust to make future plans for your entire firearms, Gun collection. This includes all of your current and future firearms and accessories.

Title 1 firearms

Title II Firearms

Firearms accessories

Day Optics i.e. weapon sights, scopes and spotting scopes

Night Vision Optics and Weapon sights

Thermal Weapon sights

Ammunition

Other accessories

My Texas NFA Gun Trust allows you to designate specifically who you want to get your firearms collection and the associated equipment. You may also designate which beneficiary gets which items. The trust is revocable and amendable during your lifetime and you may change beneficiaries at any time during your lifetime. Your family will void the requirement filing an expensive probate or other intestacy lawsuit when you die.

No Annual Fees or Maintenance: The Texas NFA Gun Trust does not require any annual filings or fees.

The Texas NFA Gun Trust is not filed with the City, County State or Federal Government.

Once it is set up, you shouldn’t ever need to pay any other trust related fees throughout the lifetime of the trust. From adding or removing trustees, or changing beneficiaries, our trusts are designed so you can have complete control without needing an attorney, notary, or outside assistance.

Privacy: The Texas NFA Gun Trust is a private entity. The only governmental agency that gets a copy of your Texas NFA Gun Trust is the BATFE when you submit a form 1 or a Form 4. Trusts have always been used to keep the government out of your private business. Even after the new rule, ATF41F, the Texas NFA Gun Trust is the most effective method to keep your p firearms collection private.

The Texas NFA Gun Trust does not have a “Schedule A” and you will not be required to send or show a list of the firearms your trust owns to anyone you don’t want to. The trust maintains your privacy both before and after your death.

If you reside in Texas, I can help you set up your NFA Trust quickly and painlessly with a simple phone call.

The NFA Trust is a trust that is tailored to ensure compliance with the National Firearms Act which regulates weapons that are known as Title II (or class III) firearms and chapter 46 of the Texas Penal Code. Title II (or Class III) weapons are machineguns, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, destructive devices and weapons classified as AOWs (Any Other Weapons).

The weapons regulated by the National firearms act are:

Machine Guns - this includes any firearm which can fire more than 1 cartridge per trigger pull. Both continuous fully-automatic fire and "burst fire" (i.e., firearms with a 3-round burst feature) are considered machine gun features.

Short Barreled Rifles (SBRs) - this category includes any firearm with a buttstock and either a rifled barrel under 16" long or an overall length under 26". The overall length is measured with any folding or collapsing stocks in the extended position. The category also includes firearms which came from the factory with a buttstock that was later removed by a third party.

Short Barreled Shotguns (SBSs) - this category is defined similarly to SBRs, but the length limit for the barrel is 18" instead of 16", and the barrel must be a Smoothbore. The minimum overall length limit remains 26".

Suppressors (aka Silencers) - this includes any portable device designed to muffle or disguise the report of a firearm.

Destructive Devices (DD)- there are two broad classes of destructive devices:

Devices such as Grenades, bombs, explosive Missiles, Poison Gas weapons, and similar items and any non-sporting firearm with a bore over 0.50", such as a 40mm Grenade Launcher often used in conjunction with rifles. (Many firearms with bores over 0.50", such as 12-gauge shotguns, are exempted from the law because they have been determined to have a legitimate sporting use.)

Any Other Weapons (AOWs) - this is a broad "catch-all" category used to regulate any number of firearms which the ATF deems deserving of registration and taxation. Examples include, among others:

Smooth-bore pistols

Pen guns and Cane guns

Short-barreled firearms with both rifled and smooth bores, etc.

Disguised firearms

Firearms that can be fired from within a wallet holster or a briefcase

A short-barreled shotgun which came from the factory with a pistol grip is categorized as an AOW rather than a SBS, because the Gun Control Act describes a shotgun as “…designed or redesigned to be fired from the shoulder…”

Handguns with a forward vertical grip. It is illegal to place an aftermarket foregrip on any pistol without first registering it as an AOW and paying the $200.00 "making tax" imposed by the Act.